Everything to Lose
by Obi-Wan'sPadawan
Summary: UPDATED Will Mulder is kidnapped and will be killed unless the captor gets a disc. Can Mulder save him before it is too late?
1. One Happy Family

Title: Everything to Lose

Characters: Mulder, F.

Scully, D.

Rating: TV-14

Genre: Supernatural, Suspense

Summary: Will Mulder is kidnapped. Can Mulder rescue Will before it is too late, and he loses everything?

October 23

"Daddy! Daddy, Daddy!" the little boy shouted, running down the aisle as fast as his little legs could carry him. He grabbed the nearest costume and held it above his head. "How 'bout this one?"

His father laughed as he approached. "No, Will. I don't think you want to be a cowgirl for Halloween."

Will frowned. "Is not a cowgirl! Cowboy!"

Mulder kneeled down next to his four-year-old son, brushing a stray strand of brown hair from his face. "Look," he said, pointing to the costume. "It's got a skirt. Cowboys don't wear skirts, Will."

The child looked at the costume again, then threw it onto the ground. "Yuk!" he said before heading back to the costume rack.

Mulder smiled and shook his head as he hung the cowgirl costume back up. One costume caught his eye and he smiled. He turned to Will with it in his hand.

"Hey Will. How 'bout this one?"

William turned quickly and looked at his father. "Daddy no!" he said quickly, seeing the glittery, pink princess dress Mulder was holding up. "No, no, no!" he repeated, turning away.

Mulder grinned and fought back his laughter as he put the dress back. He then snuck up behind Will, and before the child knew it, scooped him up in his arms.

"I think you'd be a cute little princess," he told him.

"No! You'd be the pretty princess!" Will said.

Mulder dropped his jaw, pretending to be offended by Will's childish retort. "William Mulder!" he said. "You're gonna pay for that!"

He released Will, almost letting him fall to the floor, but he grabbed Will's legs before he hit. This left Will dangling from his father's hands, upside down. It was a favorite game of theirs, and Will loved it.

"At least Mommy's not here," Will shouted happily.

"Why?"

"You know. She likes to tickle!"

Mulder switched Will feet around so he was holding him up in one hand. "Like this?" he asked, tickling Will in the ribs.

Will shrieked happily, then could not stop laughing. Mulder laughed with him, then set the child back on his feet. Will plopped down on the floor for a moment, then looked up at Mulder when his laughter had finally subsided.

"You so silly," he said. Then he looked up at the rack of costumes and smiled. He stood up and pointed to one, his eyes wide. "Dis on, Daddy!"

"Which one?" Mulder asked. He stepped over to Will.

Will held up a Star Wars costume. It was a tan tunic with shoe covers to make the shoes look like boots. It also came with a fake braid to dangle on the child's shoulder. Mulder nodded after checking the size, and price, tag. "Ok, Will. You can get that one."

Will began to jump up and down, repeating, "Yay, yay, yay!" 

Mulder grinned at him, then watched as an older woman gave them a funny look as she passed them. He smiled and waved to her, causing her to rush away.

Mulder shook his head, then scooped Will up under one arm, costume and all. He put Will in the seat, but he began to squirm.

"What is it, Will?"

"I wanna get in the bottom!" he said, referring to the little rack on the under the main basket. Mulder shook his head, but picked his son up out of the seat and placed him on the ground. Will climbed onto the bottom and lay on his stomach, with it now only inches from the ground.

"Watch your fingers," Mulder warned as he began to push the buggy. He maneuvered through the crowds of people with slight unease, but eventually made it to a cashier, but had to wait in line. He looked down at Will for a moment and smiled. Scully wouldn't be home until late, so he would have to make Will's supper for him.

He laughed quietly to himself for a moment. Even though they'd been officially married for two years, he still found himself calling her Scully, just as she still called him Mulder. He didn't mind, though. There was some bit of familiar comfort to it. He glanced down at his wedding band briefly, as if to make sure it was still there.

Life, no matter how good, just didn't seem right to him. It was just _too_ good to be his. After years of running and chasing, he had finally found some peace, but it seemed wrong. He still expected for someone to try and jump him to cover a conspiracy at any moment. He shook his head. He had this life now. He had Scully and he had Will. He had it, and he wasn't going to give them up.

He managed to get out of the store in less than thirty minutes, after convincing Will that the Wal-Mart lady wasn't stealing his costume and would give it back. Traffic was light, so he made it home in record time, just in time for Will to watch his beloved Pokémon show.

Mulder peered at the TV while pulling out boxes of Easy-Mac, instant mashed potatoes, and Shake n' Bake. "How can you watch that stuff, Will? All they do is fight."

"Is cool," was the reply.

Mulder shook his head. "What's that one's name again? Peek-a-boo?"

"No! He's Pikachu. He's my favorite."

"Why?"

"Cuz he zaps all the bad guys."

Mulder smiled and went back to his supper preparations. He managed to cook everything with the fire alarm only going off once. This incident amused Will, who sat on the floor laughing as Mulder tried to tear the alarm off of the ceiling.

Moments later, they were sitting at the table, with plates of Mulder's questionable food in front of them. Will made a face and poked his food.

"Mommy cooks a little better."

Mulder shrugged while chewing a bite. "Well, Mommy's a mommy. They're supposed to cook good."

Will smiled. "I thought Mommy was a princess."

"She is. She's my princess."

"She says she's your queen and you have to do what she tells you to."

"She can try."

Will finished eating, and actually ate most of his food. Mulder cleaned up the kitchen as best he knew how, which was piling all of the dishes in the sink. After that they sat on the couch together and Mulder read Will 'Green Eggs and Ham' for the millionth time.

******Scully sighed as she got out of her car. Another long day at work in the local hospital, and for the fourth time this week she'd had to stay late. She hated staying late. She usually got home after Will was asleep, leaving her no time to spend with her son. Mulder was usually beat by then too, after caring for the hyper four-year-old all day, and wasn't usually up to anything.

She looked up at Will's window. Dark. That meant that he was probably asleep. She shook her head. How much she wished she could just spend a day with her son, like Mulder. Hell, she wanted to spend a day with the both of them. 

She fumbled for her keys a moment, then pushed the door open. The first thing she noticed was that the whole house was dark, and there was a faint smell of something burnt in the air. She smiled. No doubt Mulder had tried cooking again.

She stepped further into the house, tossing her jacket and purse onto a chair in the living room. Then she paused. Laying on the couch, fast asleep, were Mulder and Will. They must have both fallen asleep while reading. Or rather, Will had fallen asleep first, and Mulder had stayed put, not wanting to wake him.

She stepped up to them and gently picked the sleeping Will up from the couch. He mumbled something in his sleep, and Mulder stirred slightly, but neither woke. She carried Will up to his room, then tucked him into bed. He opened his eyes a bit and mumbled, but never fully awoke. She kissed his cheek.

"Night, Will. I love you."

"Luvyoutoo," he slurred, rolling over in his bed.

She smiled and left his room, heading back to the living room. Mulder was still stretched out on the couch. She sat next to him and grasped his hand in hers. He stirred, opened his eyes, and smiled.

"When did you get home?"

"Just a few minutes ago. You and Will have fun?"

"Yeah. He got himself a little Star Wars costume."

"At least it's not a Pokémon, like last year," she said, running a hand through his hair.

"He misses you, you know. You really should take a day off sometime." He tried to sit up, but Scully pushed him back.

"I'll try, Mulder. I really will." She pushed his legs back further, making room for her to lay with him on the couch. She snuggled next to him and he put his arm around her. Moments later, they were both asleep.

******

"Dis is a happy face. Dis is a sad face. Dis is the face that Daddy makes when he gets angry," Will was saying the next day. He was sitting with his dad and playing with Mulder's face, making faces.

Mulder smiled, messing up whatever face Will was trying to make. "That's also the face Daddy makes when Will doesn't clean his room."

"I clean my room!" the child protested. He looked intently at Mulder's face for a moment, then poked one of his cheeks. "What that?" he asked.

Mulder made a face. "That's my cheek, Will. You know what that is."

"No, dis." Will spread three fingers down one of his own cheeks.

"Oh," Mulder said, his heart sinking slightly. "Those are scars. I didn't think you could still see them."

"Scars? Like the one I got from falling on my skates?"

"Yeah, Will. Just like that."

"How'd you get them?"

Mulder shifted in his seat uncomfortably. "It's from a long time ago, Will. Something very bad happened to me."

"What?"

"Now Will, don't bother your dad like that," Scully said, stepping out from behind the corner where she had been watching the whole incident. She patted Will's head. "Speaking of cleaning your room, shouldn't you go and do that now?"

"Aww," Will said, but trudged up to his room anyway.

Scully slid onto the couch next to Mulder, who had a far away look on his face at the moment. She smiled sadly and placed a comforting hand on his arm. "Don't worry about it Mulder. That was a long time ago."

He sighed. "Yeah, I know. But sometimes when I close my eyes, I can still see it, still feel it. It feels like it's starting all over again."

"It's not, Mulder. I promise."

He smiled and kissed her. "I'll hold you to that."


	2. I failed him, Scully

October 25

Scully sighed as she stepped into her home a few nights later. From the street outside, she had seen that all the lights were out except for Will's room. She glanced at her watch. It was almost eleven o'clock. Will should have been in bed hours ago.

She shook her head, knowing how Mulder had a tendency to lose track of time when with Will. Many a time had she come home late to still find them playing with Will's Lego block. Mulder would just look up at her innocently, and she couldn't find it in herself to berate him. Nor could she fuss at Will. He had his father's ability to put on such a cute puppy face.

She stepped inside the house, noticing that the couch was empty, meaning that Mulder was still with Will and hadn't fallen asleep while Will took it upon himself to get up and play again. She walked past the kitchen, which was actually clean, just how she had left it that morning. For a moment, she figured that Mulder had just taken Will to McDonald's or something, but the trash did show evidence of that. Did Mulder forget to feed Will, Scully wondered to herself.

She shook her head again. No, Mulder wouldn't forget to feed Will, even if he forgot to feed himself. She slowly walked up the stairs. "William! Fox! You were supposed to be in bed hours ago! Wait until I find where you're hiding!" she shouted up the stairs, letting the pair know she was home.

Still, there was nothing. No scrambling noises as Will rushed into bed, no giggling as Mulder found a place for Will to hide from his mother. Nothing. It was unsettling, and Scully didn't like it at all. She put her bad down at the top of the stairs, wondering if perhaps they had both fallen asleep.

Scully crept up to Will's door, which was slightly ajar, the light flooding into the hall. She quietly pushed it open, then peered inside. At first she saw nothing, then her eyes rested on the still form of Mulder lying on the floor, a small pool of blood beneath his head.

"Mulder!" she cried, rushing to him. Thinking quickly, she checked for a pulse right off. She found it, and was relieved. She turned him over onto his back and held his face, which was nearly covered with blood from wounds on his forehead and temple. He was almost unrecognizable.

"Mulder," she said softly, hoping he would awake. But he didn't, despite all the times she said his name. Tears began running down her face as she fully realized what had happened. Shelves, toys, and decorations littered the floor of Will's room, and his closet door looked like it had been knocked of its hinges. The window to Will's room was also broken. This, to Scully, meant that someone had broken in with the intention of taking only Will. Obviously, Mulder had been in the room when it happened and fought. Somehow, they'd beaten him.

Will's gone, and Mulder is unresponsive. How much worse could things get? she wondered to herself, praying that they wouldn't.

******

October 26

Scully sat in a chair next to the bed, staring at the wall, but seeing nothing. It was almost two o'clock. Three hours since she had come home to find Will gone and Mulder unconscious. She'd taken Mulder to their room and fixed up his wounds the best she could. Then she'd laid him on their bed to wait for him to wake up. He still hadn't. He lay still, almost as if asleep.

She'd entertained the thought of taking him to the hospital, but a nagging feeling in the back of her mind told that it was a bad idea. She figured that whoever had Will wouldn't take kindly to them leaving the house. She also didn't think she would be able to pull Mulder all the way to the car. Dragging him to their room had been hard enough.

The wounds she had found on Mulder had confirmed her guess that there had been a struggle. The multiple bruises on arms, stomach, and chest all seemed like the results of some fierce punches and kicks. His lip was split, along with the ridge over his eye. Must have been some fight, Scully thought to herself.

She closed her eyes and placed a hand on Mulder's. He stirred, finally, mumbling incoherently. Scully leaned over, grasping his hand tightly.

"Mulder. Wake up, Mulder. C'mon."

He stirred again. "Scully?"

She tried to hold back her tears of relief. "Yeah, Mulder. It's me."

His eyes slowly opened and he turned to her. "Scully," he whispered hoarsely.

"I'm here. I'm here."

He clenched his eyes shut and looked away. She saw tears running from his eyes as he spoke. "I failed him, Scully. I failed our son. It was my job to protect him, and I couldn't even do that."

She tightened her grip on his hand. "You didn't fail him. It's not your fault. You fought for him, right?"

Mulder pulled his hand away slowly and looked away, unable to tell himself that he had done all he could for his son. Scully watched as he rolled over painfully, turning his back to her. Then he got to his feet slowly and headed for the door, stiff, as if in pain.

"Where are you going?" she asked worriedly.

"Downstairs."

Scully watched then as he walked out of the room and disappeared around the corner of the door. After a minute or two, she heard a loud thump and crash. She rushed out of the room as fast as she could and saw Mulder at the bottom of the stairs, pulling himself off of the ground.

She climbed down the steps quickly. "Mulder! Are you alright?"

Mulder didn't answer, he just buried his face in his hands. Scully saw his shoulders heave gently, and she knew that he was crying. She sat next to him on the stairs and put her arms around him, letting him bury his face in her shoulder.

"Will. We'll never see him again," he was saying between sobs. Scully shook her head gently, but the same weight had fallen upon her heart. Would they ever see their little boy again? Was he alive or was he already dead? Scully buried her own face in Mulder's hair and was unable to keep her own tears from falling.


	3. The Call

Light slowly filled the house, spilling in from the windows. Scully's eyes fluttered open as the light hit them. She blinked once, then tried to sit up, only to find a large weight on her. Mulder had laid against her, his head in her lap. She looked around for a moment, then realized that they were still at the bottom of the stairs.

She struggled to gently push Mulder off of her, trying not to wake him. She wasn't able to do that, and he jolted awake. He looked around for a moment, just as confused as she had been. He quickly realized where they were, and the horrible memories of the night before came flooding back. He looked up at her sadly as he sat up.

"Will?"

Scully shook her head. "Still not here, Mulder."

Mulder nodded sadly. "Thought so. I'd hoped it was all a dream. A really bad dream. Guess not. Just not that lucky."

She looked away for a moment, then turned to him. "We have to do something. We can't just sit here while Will is out there."

He nodded and stood up. "No, we can't."

Suddenly, a phone rang. Scully listened, confused for a moment, until she realized that it was her cell phone, still at the top of the stairs. She slowly climbed up the stairs, fishing it out of the bag.

"Hello?" she said carefully when she opened it.

"Mommy! Mommy! Help me!" a screaming Will cried over the phone. "I wanna come home! I want you and Daddy! No! Don't!" Scully put a hand to her mouth as her son's voice was swiftly cut off. She turned to Mulder, who had been climbing up the stairs toward her. He stood there for a moment, frozen with a look of sheer terror on his face.

"Will? Will, are you there? Talk to me, sweety," Scully begged over the phone. "It's Mommy. Can you hear me?"

"Will!" Mulder shouted, inching closer to Scully. "Will!" His panic seemed to have broken through, and he was losing control.

"Stop shouting, Agent Mulder. It's not good for children to hear their parents yell," a strange voice said, replacing the now silent Will.

"What the...Who the hell are you?" Mulder shouted, making sure that he could be heard. "And where's my son!"

"Be calm, Agent Mulder. When you have decided to be civilized and silent, I will tell you what you need to hear."

Mulder ran a hand over his face and gave Scully a furious look. The fury wasn't directed at her, but to the man on the phone who took Will's voice from them. He shook his head and began to walk down the stairs, knowing he wouldn't be able to control himself. Scully watched him, pleading with her eyes.

After a few moments the voice began to speak again. "Now that I have your complete attention. I do indeed, as you may have guessed, have your son. Will, was it? No matter, it only matters who his parents are. The great Fox Mulder and Dana Scully. The agents who gave it all to find out the truth." The man gave a laugh. "The truth. You found it, did you not? That doesn't matter. Taking this child was the only way I could get what I wanted from you."

Scully swallowed a lump in her throat. "What do you want?"

"You can't give me what I want, Agent Scully. But you can get me the means to obtain it. In Agent Mulder's former office, now the office of a John Doggett, there is a disc. A 3 1/2 floppy, to be specific. It has information on there that I need. Get it, or your little 'miracle' dies."

"But we can't just walk into DC and get that disc. It's impossible. There's got to be hundreds of discs, if they still exist. And we don't even know if Doggett is still there."

"Well, find out. You have one week. I'll call you at this number to check up on you." The line went dead.


	4. In the Airport

Mulder leaned forward and covered his face with his hands. He hated being in a very public place, such as the airport they were now in. After all, wasn't he a convicted murderer on the run from the FBI? No doubt someone might recognize him. Then everything would be for naught. Will would die, and he and Scully would both go to jail, with a syringe waiting to end _his_ quest.

After they had been running from the FBI and the Syndicate for a long time, both organization's efforts seemed to slack, allowing Mulder and Scully to settle down in a small Kansas town. The 'Johnson's', as they were known, had been readily accepted into the quiet community. Scully, with more than a little help from AD Skinner, had gotten a job in the local hospital, using fake degrees that she had actually earned as 'Scully'. Mulder opted to stay home, not wanting to risk any exposure.

Will had come back to them soon after that. This miracle came with the aid of Doggett and Reyes. They'd never said how they managed to bring Will home, and neither Mulder nor Scully asked. They were just relieved to have their family together and complete.

Mulder's thoughts came to an abrupt halt when he saw a pair of shoes stop in front of him. The mere size and style told him that it was not Scully. Fearing the worst, be it a badge or a gun shoved in his face, he slowly looked up.

The man smiled. "What's the time?"

Mulder stared at him for a moment. "Oh!" he finally said, digesting what he had said. "Sorry. I...uh...don't carry a watch anymore. Mine got stuck in the dryer a few weeks ago, and I haven't gotten around to getting another yet." He smiled, feebly hoping the man would buy his fib.

The man smiled back. "Sorry to bother you then. I've just got this awful feeling that I'm late, but I can't seem to find a clock anywhere."

Mulder nodded. "Yeah, that happens."

"Where're you headed?" the man asked.

Mulder frowned. Could this be a friendly conversation, or a set-up to gather information on them? "Oh, just a business trip up to Washington," he said, trying to sound friendly. He deliberately skipped the 'DC' part, hoping the man would think of the state.

The man grinned. "Washington, eh? Supposed to be pretty cold about this time. Especially around Seattle."

Mulder silently congratulated himself, but kept in mind that this man could be working for whoever took Will.

The man leaned to the side, peering at something on a bar wall. "Well, look at that. A clock. Well, I'm sorry Mr...?"

"Johnson," Mulder supplied.

"Yes. I'm sorry Mr. Johnson, but it seems as though I have five minutes to get to the other side of the building. It was nice talking with you." The man nodded to Mulder, then took off in a run towards another part of the airport. Just then, Scully approached Mulder, watching the man's retreating back.

"Who was that, Mulder?"

"Just a guy, I think."

"You think?"

Mulder smiled. "Yes, I do think. Occasionally."

Scully sat next to him, pushing a pair of tickets into his hand. "I managed to get us tickets for a noon flight."

"Good. Then we get more to eat than a bag of peanuts."

"Or sunflower seeds, in your case," she replied, noting the bag sticking out of his pocket.

He grinned and opened up the tickets. "Oh, not our usual first class."

"No, Mulder. I'm sorry, but we no longer get to use our FBI status to get bigger seats."

"Hmm...too bad." He peered at the tickets again for a moment, then looked up at her. "So, we'll be in DC at about three?"

"Right."

He sighed. "And then we march right into the hornet's nest."

Scully shook her head. "I'm going to see if I can contact Skinner first. He may be able to get what we need."

"What if he was sacked?"

"Then I can try Doggett or Reyes."

"None of them know what this guy wants." He sighed in frustration. "This is crazy. If all my old stuff is still in that office, there's no way we can find one disc out of many. I've got boxes full in there. Or, I had boxes. They probably destroyed all of that stuff after I was tried for that murder."

Scully shook her head. "I know. That man has asked us to do the near impossible." She grasped his hand. "But then again, it's not the first time we've tried to do something that seems impossible."

Mulder looked into her eyes for a moment. Then he smiled, seeing hope in them. This lifted his own heart and gave him the will to do whatever it would take to get his son back. Their son. He gave Scully's hand a squeeze. "Right. Now let's go. We have a plane to catch."


	5. Back in DC

It was odd being back in D.C., Mulder thought to himself as he stared out of the window. Everything was so familiar, but so strange. It was also potentially dangerous. Anyone he knew or once met could recognize him, and if they'd heard of the trial, could be the end of him. With this in mind, he unknowingly slouched low in his seat.

Scully noticed and laughed. "Calm down, Mulder. You look suspicious. Besides, the windows are tinted, no one can see inside the car."

Mulder smiled and sat up. "Yeah, I know. Kind of a reaction, I think." He stared back out the window. "Wow," he said, more to himself than Scully. "I used to get drunk there."

Scully shook her head. "You weren't a big drinker, Mulder. You still aren't."

"I could use a good drink right now," Mulder answered, rubbing his temples.

Scully took one hand off the steering wheel and grasped Mulder's hand. "I know. But we have to keep a clear mind if we want to find Will."

"Yeah. So, what do we need to do first?"

"Well, I think first we should try to get in contact with anyone in the FBI that can help us, without sending you to jail."

"That means Skinner, Doggett and Reyes."

"Spender may help. Kersh too."

"I don't trust either of them."

"Mulder, Spender tried to help at your trial."

"I know. Old habits die hard."

Scully smiled, then turned back to the road. They drove in silence for a few minutes until they passed a bank on the corner. 

"I wonder if I still have money in there," Mulder wondered idly.

"Doesn't matter. You couldn't get it out. Besides, we're not here for money."

"I know. I'm trying to temporarily take my mind off of why we are here."

Scully fell silent. "I'm sorry, Mulder."

"Don't be, Scully. I think I should just shut up."

"Maybe," Scully said as she pulled the car over.

This startled Mulder. "Scully, what are you doing? We can't stop."

"I'm going to use the pay phone," she pointed to the phone in front of them. "That way, no one can trace it to us. Skinner, Doggett, and Reyes all know our fake names, so it'll be hard for anyone to figure out that it's us."

Mulder nodded, but still looked apprehensive. Scully slapped his hand gently, then got out of the car. Taking the quarters from the cupholder, she made her way to the phone, glancing around her. She put in the first coin and dialed Skinner's cell. It rang, and rang, and rang, but no one picked up. Finally Skinner's voice message kicked in.

"This is Walter Skinner. I can't come to the phone right now, so leave a name and number. I'll get back to you when I can."

That man is so boring, Scully thought to herself. "Hey, Walter. This is Rebecca Johnson. I'm in town with Rob and we were just wondering if you'd like to meet us for some drinks later on. Call us. You've got our number." She hung up and glanced back at the car. She could faintly see Mulder's outline through the window. He seemed restless, not like himself at all.

Scully turned back to the phone and deposited another coin. She dialed Doggett's number, hoping he hadn't changed it in the past years. It rang a few times, then she heard a click.

It was a woman's voice. "Hello?"

This threw Scully off a bit. "Yes, uh...I was wanting to speak to John Doggett."

"He's not here right now. Can I take a message for him?"

"Yeah, just tell him that Rebecca Johnson called-"

"Dana?" the woman interrupted.

This threw Scully off even more. "Who is this?"

"This is Monica. Dana, how are you?"

Scully smiled at the sound of a friendly voice. "I'm okay. But listen, we really need to meet somewhere to talk."

"Wait, are you in D.C.?"

"Yeah."

"Is..._he_ with you?"

"Yeah."

"Dana, are you crazy? Anyone could recognize him. Hell, we've got agents walking all over D.C. right now. All of them know Mulder's face and his history."

Scully listened while Reyes kept talking. Finally she interrupted. "They've got Will," she blurted out, trying to choke down a sob at the thought of her son.

Reyes fell silent for a moment. "Who? Who has Will?"

"We need to meet."

"Okay, how about John's place? Ever since you guys left, he keeps it pretty much bug free. They tried bugging his office and house for a few months after you two escaped, but gave up. He checks it almost everyday." Reyes laughed. "He's almost as paranoid as your Mulder."

"Yeah, well Mulder had reasons."

"So does John. They tried to kill him, did you know?" Reyes asked, all playfulness in her voice gone.

"What?" Scully exclaimed, shocked. "When?"

"After you guys left. They sent someone to his house to kill him. They got him in the leg, but they didn't kill him."

"How did he get out? Who was it?"

"Someone sent by the guy Gibson pointed out in court, I'd guess. We don't know for sure."

"Maybe we shouldn't go to his place. I don't want to put him, or you, in danger."

"We're always in danger, Scully. We always will be, whether you and Mulder are right there with us or a thousand miles away. That's the price we pay for the truth."

Scully nodded, not even thinking that Reyes couldn't see her. "Yeah. We've all paid," she said, turning to glance at Mulder, who was still sitting in the car.

"You guys want to meet us today? At least you'll have a place to stay."

Scully thought about it for a moment. "Yeah, sure. John's still at the same place?"

"Yeah, we're still here. Come on by today. You guys can stay in the extra room and we'll help you find Will."

Scully smiled, thankful that there was someone friendly in the town. "All right. Mulder and I will be over soon."


	6. Monica and John

****

Look! You've found the next chapter! As a reward, you get to read it! 

Hours later, Scully pulled up to a house with a white picket fence and perfect yard. Mulder laughed.

"Look, we've found the Brady Bunch," he joked as he opened the door. Scully shot him a warning glance, but that was all. She made sure to lock the car, then began to walk up to the door. She and Mulder reached it, and she pressed the doorbell.

There was a moment of nothing, leaving Scully to wonder if perhaps no one was home, or that Reyes had gone back to her apartment. Just as she was about to tell Mulder that they were leaving, the door flew open, revealing Monica Reyes.

She smiled broadly upon seeing her friends. She quickly grabbed Scully in a hug. When she let go, she stood back and smiled. "It's been far too long, Scully. You look good though, considering what you must be going through." She turned to Mulder. "And you. You look a whole lot better too."

"Well, anyone looks better after getting out of an orange monkey suit."

"Yeah, I never did get to see you on a good day. You were always half-dead, recovering, or in jail whenever I saw you." She smiled. "Actually, I know I saw you more than that, but who cares, right?"

Mulder smiled. "Right."

She stepped to the side. "Come on in." Scully nodded to her, then stepped inside of John's house. She immediately noticed a difference. There seemed to be more decorations. More cheerful ones. Decorations that John would never buy. She turned back to Reyes as she and Mulder sat on a couch, and Reyes in another opposite theirs.

"What happened to the house? It's a lot different than the last time I was in here."

"Well, that was a few years ago." Reyes looked around, as if searching for what was different. "I've bought a few things over the years."

Scully studied Reyes for a moment. She was obviously comfortable in the house, not afraid to mess with anything. She'd probably spent a lot of time here during the years. Scully's eyes went to Reyes' ring finger, which still had nothing on it.

"You John's decorator now?" she asked jokingly, hoping to get the answer to her thoughts.

Reyes laughed. "No, not really. Although I have kinda taken over. He had such a bland style." She smiled and shook her head. "No, I moved in with John."

Scully nodded, and was surprised to see Mulder nodding too. "Yeah, I figured that," he said. "You two did seem to be getting kinda close."

Reyes raised an eyebrow. "You saw it like it's a bad thing. Like it is something you don't approve of."

"I didn't say that, nor did I mean it. I think it's good that Doggett has someone to keep him in line."

Reyes smiled again, then glanced at the clock. "Any minute now," she said idly. A few seconds later, they heard the door click as it was unlocked. Monica stood up as Doggett entered the house. Reyes went to him and hugged him, and he kissed her cheek. Then he looked up, startled to see Mulder and Scully.

Scully smiled and stood up, and he surprised her by giving her a hug too. He let go and smiled. "I haven't see you in forever." He turned to look at Mulder.

Mulder held out his arms. "My turn," he said jokingly. Doggett allowed a small smile and shook one of Mulder's outstretched hands. He sighed and sank down onto the couch with Reyes.

"What are you doing here? It's a little dangerous for you to come back, especially after breaking out of the prison. You should have gone straight to Canada."

Mulder shrugged. "There was something I had to do."

Doggett shook his head. "You could have been found or killed. And you would have taken Scully down with you."

Mulder turned to Scully then back to Doggett, but he had no words. Scully put a hand on Mulder's arm. "Then we'd have gone down together. I wouldn't have it any other way."

Doggett looked from Scully to Mulder and nodded. "I understand." He leaned forward. "So, tell me why you came back. What could be so important?"

Scully looked at him, all her face void of all expression. "William," she said simply.

Doggett looked confused for a moment, then looked at Reyes, whose eyes told him all. He turned back to Scully. "What's happened to Will? Who did it?"

Scully shook her head. "We don't know who took him. But they want a disc from Mulder's office. If they don't get it, they'll kill our son," Scully said, her voice breaking with emotion. Mulder put a comforting arm around her and held her close.

Doggett made a face. "A disc? From Mulder's office?" He groaned and put his face in his hands. Reyes patted his back. He looked up at a very confused Mulder and Scully. "Right after we got you out of prison, Mulder, they ransacked the X-Files office and took everything."

Mulder said nothing, but his eyes showed the heartbreak. He blinked once, then looked down at the floor, pulling away from Scully. "Should've known," he said to himself. "Should have known that they would take everything. Should've known," he repeated.

Scully put a hand on his back and leaned closer to his face. "It's not your fault," she whispered, so that Doggett and Reyes could not hear. "You didn't do anything."

Mulder nodded, but did not look up. Doggett shifted in his seat uncomfortably. "What's on the disc, Agent Mulder?"

Mulder smiled cynically. "I'm not an agent anymore, remember? I'm a convicted criminal on the run from the law." He shook his head. "I don't know what was on the disc. I had dozens of discs."

Doggett and Reyes shook their heads. They didn't know what to do.


	7. Doggett's Promise

Scully woke up in the middle of the night to find Mulder tossing and turning violently. His eyes were clenched tightly and he was gripping the blankets hard. It was almost as if he were fighting an enemy in his dreams.

"Mulder," Scully said, moving closer to him and putting a hand over his. He felt cold to her, and she noticed that he was shivering, but was covered in sweat. "Mulder," she repeated, "honey, I'm here. Calm down," she said, wrapping her arms around him and rubbing his arms, trying to warm him up.

He slowly released the blankets from his deathgrip, and Scully felt his body relax a little. He still felt cold to her, so she wrapped her arms around him even tighter. Burying her face in his hair, she was reminded of the time they spent after he freed her from the spacecraft in Antarctica. He was freezing to death and needed her to save him. This was no different; he just needed to be saved from something else. Something that could not be seen or shot with a gun. He needed to be saved from the demons inside that haunted him.

She slowly drifted off to sleep, and when she awoke, she saw Mulder sitting in a chair by the window, staring out the blinds. He seemed tense, which startled Scully. Had someone found them? she wondered. She sat up, clutching the comforter around her.

"Mulder? What is it?"

He turned to her slowly. "Nothing. There's nothing there," he said idly, as if most of his mind was elsewhere, which Scully didn't doubt it was. He gave her a small smile, then turned back to the window. 

Scully stared at his passive face for a moment before swinging her feet over the edge of the bed. She came to stand behind her husband, throwing her arms around his neck, this being one of the few times she could do so without being on tiptoes. "Mulder, you had a nightmare last night. I woke up and you were tossing and turning something awful. You felt cold as well. What was it, Mulder? What scared you so much?"

Mulder didn't answer at first, just continued staring out of the window. "It was nothing," he finally said. "It was just a dream. Just a dream," he repeated, more for his own benefit than hers.

She shook her head and held him tight. "It wasn't nothing, Mulder. Don't lie to me. You promised me that you wouldn't."

He sighed. "I did, didn't I?"

"Yes you did. Now tell me, what did you see?"

He was quiet for a moment. Then he said quietly, "The end. The end of us, the end of Will, the end of everything as we know it."

Scully fell silent. What could she say? She hadn't a clue. She could only hold him, and hope that it was enough. 

Some time later, they made their way downstairs. Monica and John were already in the kitchen, having a time of making something for breakfast. The site of John Doggett in a 'Kiss the Cook' apron made Scully laugh, which startled both of them.

Reyes smiled. "Good morning to you too. We're in the process of making breakfast, but obviously John doesn't know how to scramble an egg."

"I can scramble an egg just fine. You're the one who turned up the stove too high so it burnt," Doggett said defensively. Mulder grinned at the two and sank into a chair wearily. He wasn't physically tired, just emotionally. 

Scully was also drained, but it did rise her spirits to watch Doggett and Reyes struggle to make breakfast. It seemed that everything that could go wrong, did. Doggett burnt the eggs, Reyes spilled orange juice by running into Doggett, Doggett burnt his hand on a still hot pan, yet their spirits were still very high. Finally Reyes managed to dig some frozen waffles out of the freezer and heat those up.

She smiled apologetically as she set them in front of Mulder and Scully. "Sorry about that. He's not really a cooking person."

Mulder grinned. "Obviously. But don't worry, this is just like home," he said, getting a small piece of waffle junked at him in rebuke from Scully.

"Hey!" Doggett warned, "don't mess up my house!" Mulder looked at him with raised eyebrows, then looked pointedly at the kitchen, which looked as if a small tornado had just torn through it. Doggett saw his gaze and shrugged. "It happens." He sank into a seat across from Mulder and Scully. "Alright, I'm going to look through the storage and your old office today, Mulder. I'm going to see if I can find anything at all, and if I do, I'll bring it to you."

Mulder nodded. "I appreciate that. But let's face it, there's nothing left."

Doggett allowed a small grin. "That's not quite true. They left your poster."

"Wow," Mulder said sarcastically. "Maybe that's what this guy wants. My 'I want to believe' poster."

Reyes shook her head and put a hand on Mulder's. "We're going to help you get Will back. I promise."


	8. Bobbleheads and A Phone Call

****

Ok, here's a new chapter. It moves the story along a good bit, and you finally learn what's on the disc! Part of it, at least... Enjoy!

It was another long, uneventful, day for Mulder and Scully. They had to wait at Doggett's house the entire day while Reyes and Doggett went off to work. Doggett promised again that he would search everywhere for anything that had even a slight chance of once being Mulder's.

Mulder spent most of the day staring blankly out of a window, getting up only to make a trip to the bathroom. Scully busied herself with straightening up the already-clean house and playing with Doggett's cat, Scooter. She looked up at Mulder as the cat attacked her shoelace.

"Calm down a little bit Mulder. All of your running around is making me nervous," she said sarcastically.

Mulder turned to look at her, the smallest of smiles on his face, though it did not light his eyes. He turned back to the window after a moment.

A little boy on his bike caught his eyes. The child was wobbling on new training wheels, unsteady. Mulder perked up a bit, his instincts telling him to go and help the boy. But then, the child's father rushed out into the road and grasped the boy's handlebars, helping to balance him as they went down the road together. Mulder felt something run down his cheek, and it took him a moment to realize that it was a tear.

Scully saw this too and approached him, Scooter still chasing her shoes. She sat next to Mulder and put an arm around his shoulders. She saw his face and caught a glimpse of the duo on the road. She held Mulder closer to her, feeling as if she needed to be strong for him. But she needed him to be strong for her. She didn't know how much longer she could be strong.

Mulder nodded his head absently. "We'll get him back. We'll get him back."

Scully smiled. Just then they both heard the distinct sound of the door unlocking and the knob turning. They watched then as Doggett and Reyes stepped inside, Doggett carrying a large box. He set it down on the floor of the living room, panting slightly.

"These are some things that I found. I'm not sure how much is really yours."

Mulder looked at him with raised eyebrows as he pulled out a bobble-head alien. Scully grinned despite herself. "Aw, c'mon Mulder. That is so you."

Mulder simply shook his head and continued digging through the boxes. He froze when he reached his nameplate, staring at it for a moment. Then a shadow crossed his eyes and he dropped it roughly to the floor. After a few moments he pulled out a small box of floppy discs.

"Is that it, Mulder?" Scully asked eagerly.

"I don't know. I'm not sure what's on here, nor do I know what that man wants." He flipped through the discs as if they were photos. He looked up at Doggett. "Do you have an old computer?"

Doggett frowned and turned to Reyes. "Do we?"

Reyes nodded. "Of course we do. I hardly ever throw anything out. Wait just one second." She whirled out of her chair and practically ran out of the room, leaving Mulder, Scully and Doggett in her wake.

Scully turned to Mulder. "What's on those?"

"I'm not entirely sure. That's what I need the computer-" He stopped in surprise when a phone began ringing. Scully and he exchanged glances before Scully went to her purse and pulled out her cellphone. She looked at Mulder fearfully before pressing the button. "Hello?"

"Ah, Agent Scully," the haunting voice of their son's kidnapper answered. "So nice to hear from you again. I assume that you've made some type of progress in my request."

"Listen, we could get you what you wanted, but we need to know what disc you are wanting. We have no idea what to look for," Scully said, fighting to keep her voice calm.

There was a moment of silence on the other line. "Very well. I can tell what's on the disc." She heard him laugh in the background. "You see, long ago, Agent Mulder investigated a case that I was involved in. He never solved it, so I got away with murder, literally. Well, it seems that the police have reopened my case and the most incriminating piece of evidence lies within that disc. Agent Mulder discovered it, realized its significance, and wrote it in his report, saved on a floppy."

"So you want to get rid of the evidence?"

"Exactly. Total destruction of all incriminating evidence. You see, police don't take kindly to ritualistic sacrifices." He laughed, chilling Scully's blood. "They're looking for that disc, since Agent Mulder is a fugitive to them. They know it still exists, or hope it does, rather. I want to get it before them."

"So," Scully said, feeling Mulder step up behind her, "what are we looking for?"

"A case report, dated June 4, 1991." 

Mulder shifted uncomfortably behind Scully. "Will. What about Will?"

"Ah, Agent Mulder. How nice to hear your voice. Yes, the child. When you find the disc, bring it to the bus stop near your old apartment. Further instructions will be delivered to you there."

"Will?" Mulder repeated.

The man sighed. "I suppose."

"Daddy?" Will's voice said over the receiver. Both Mulder and Scully had to fight their tears.

"I'm here, Will. I'm here," Mulder said, leaning closer to the phone.

"Daddy. Please come and get me. I'm scared and I wanna go home!"

"We're going to find you, Will. Don't worry, we're close now," Scully told her son.

"Mommy? Please...No!" Will screamed, and she knew that the phone was being taken from him.

"Will! Will, I love you!" Both Scully and Mulder shouted into the receiver, praying that their son would hear it.

"I love you too!" was the last thing they heard before the line went dead.


End file.
